I have surprisingly few photographs documenting all the traveling my family did during my childhood. We did road trips, ski weekends, bus tours, and long hikes in a fairly expansive list of countries, but the evidence is sparse. The few pictures we have together as a family are rigid and awkward: everyone stands a little stiffly next to each other, bodies perpendicular to the ground, arms at sides. Smiles often closed-lips. The only feature linking us as a family is the identical white flashes against our round-framed glasses – we are all heavily nearsighted. I promise we actually did have fun!

Post graduation, it’s harder to find time for a family trip. With multiple schedules in seemingly perpetual misalignment, there are few travel windows available. I’ll admit that I’m lazy about the actual planning and I am quite averse to long flights so I’ve been a bit of a bottleneck in the whole situation.

But we’re a family who experiences countries through food, if not photographs, and that’s where services like Try the World can be so handy! I recently received the Sweden box, which came stuffed with an assortment of unfamiliar snacks and treats: elderflower syrup, lingonberry jam, and rosehip fudge to name a few. They disappeared quickly, devoured in a whirlwind mix of authentic and inauthentic meals.

One such completely inauthentic use of the ingredients provided: Löfbergs ground coffee energy bites. They’re vegan and 100% free of refined sugars, plus they pack a crazy protein, fiber, and flavor punch. Sweet potato, banana, and black beans are my new magical combo base for baking everything! I’ve been snacking on them pre and post-workout; this fitness-friendly brownie type concoction is definitely becoming a daily habit.

A big thank you to Try the World for providing the service and snacks for this post – can’t wait to bring international exploration a little closer to home!

One of the simplest and yet most fulfilling foods we eat at home is zhou (congee), a rice porridge paired with toppings sweet or savory. But since we’re a Chinese family, we have to turn everything, particularly trivial topics, into some sort of argument. My relatives from the north insist that congee must be eaten sweet: bring on the red beans, honey, dates, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin! And my relatives from the south eat it with pickled bamboo, preserved eggs, and other sodium-dense additions. Over the weekend, my mom and my aunt actually debated this subject for a slightly embarrassing length of time as we waited for the check at a nice restaurant. Every time I thought the conversation was headed toward a more interesting direction, one party would revive the Congee Question with an exaggerated shudder and exclamation of “gross!” or “can’t believe you eat that!”

At least this wore them out enough to not fight over the bill – an argument other Asian families are likely familiar with.

I like congee both ways, depending on the time of day. It’s a completely bland palette upon which you can layer whatever flavor profiles you crave! I grew up mainly eating the sweet variety, with yams or kabocha boiled in with the rice. The deceptively filling combination of hearty grains and naturally sweet kabocha is evoked here in granola bar form. No controversy over these, except maybe a fight for leftovers.

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients (first three ingredients) and wet ingredients (chia through vanilla) separately, then pour wet into dry and mix thoroughly. The ingredients should clump together easily; wait a minute or two for the oats to soak up the liquids before adding more nut butter or honey for binding.

Layer in 1/2 of the oat mixture into the pan, pressing firmly into the corners. Top with the mashed squash and coconut, then add in the remaining oat mixture. Pack it tight!

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before cutting into bars or squares. Will keep 1 week in fridge or 1 month in freezer.

I have this image of the classic American brown-bag lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts removed, a bag of pretzels or chips, sliced fruit, maybe a chocolate chip cookie. It’s been assembled by a frazzled mother and thrust into the hands of a child who will later barter the components at recess. I had my share of these food pyramid-friendly meals when I was in elementary school, but what really made me popular right around noontime (and only then – like Cinderella, I lost the magic after the clock struck twelve) was the fact that my mom would sometimes drop off McDonald’s Happy Meals for my sister and me. Yup, all part of a well-balanced diet!

The concept of calories was foreign to my parents – they grew up in the midst of the Cultural Revolution when food was scarce and a skinny physique was unavoidable. With any potential weight gain completely out of mind, our family frequented the fast food scene more often than anyone else in our area. Every time the principal called me down to pick up my greasy packets of nuggets and fries, the rest of the elementary school took envious notice. “Jessica’s Mom” thus became a highly respected celebrity amongst five to ten year olds in Wilmington, Delaware.

Later, when I was old enough to start using an oven sans supervision, my mom would buy frozen TGI Friday’s potato skins for my sister and me to reheat for summer lunches. Bursting with cheddar, bacon and a whole lot of chemicals, a single potato skin fills 25% of your daily sodium needs and 21% of your daily fat needs. Somehow, I’ve suffered zero health repercussions! – in those years I could probably metabolize nails without a hitch.

I don't miss the McDonalds, but there's something about crispy potato skins that I continue to crave to this day. These Japanese curry-loaded versions strike a satisfying middle ground. Japanese curry is spicy in a much more approachable way than Indian curry, with grated apple bringing in a bright sweetness to round everything out. The potato soaks up this flavor and is the perfect vehicle for the thick, rich sauce. I loaded mine with slow-braised short rib but chicken and pork (especially katsu!) would work as well. My kind of happy meal!

Prepare the curry: This can be done in advance. First, heat oil in a pan over high heat. Sear the short ribs well on each side (1-2 minutes) until browned, then set aside. Toast the curry powder and tomato paste in the remaining oil and juices over medium heat; add the flour and stir until a paste forms. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent and fragrant, around 5 minutes. Then add in ginger and garlic and saute for another minute or so. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, bay leaf, and grated apple and bring to a boil. Place the short ribs into the pan and lower the heat down to medium low. Simmer for around 2 hours, adding in the carrots before the last hour. Meat should be quite tender and come off the bone easily. Chop the meat into bite size chunks.

Prepare the potatoes: Scoop most of the potato out of the skins with a spoon, leaving around 1/4 inch of potato around the edges. Brush them with olive oil and salt and fill them with the curry and meat mixture.

Bake and serve: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve topped with any of the following toppings: chopped boiled egg, cheese, sauteed cabbage and carrot.

The majority of my close friends are Asian American, so for many years most group social gatherings began and ended with Korean food. Back in college, we feasted on fried chicken while singing poorly and loudly at the K-town karaoke bar; I was never sure the morning after whether my sore throat was from belting out 90’s pop or from shivering in the 3am cold waiting for cabs back home. Just as popular was a little bar called Soop Bin that was lax on ID and generous with snacks. The last time I went there, one of my close friends taught us Korean drinking games, the rules of which were blurred by soju but somehow always resulted in her winning and everyone else downing more liquor.

Even after graduation K-town remained the default choice. For a while we frequented an all-you-can-eat K-BBQ place, ending up there once a week for a year-long run. Undeterred by the fact that it wasn't a BYOB, the boys in the group would hide liquor wrapped in dubious paper bags under the table. We’d whisk it out whenever a waiter wasn’t nearby, but as each night progressed we'd become less subtle refilling our glasses and begin acting suspiciously rowdy for a group ordering only soda. The manager would politely remind us of the policy against outside alcohol and we’d nod dopily at him and order a reconciliatory pitcher of beer.

I’ve actually stopped drinking entirely over the past year and a half – which is a separate story in itself –but I still think of those nights with a lot of nostalgia. Firstly, it’s nice to remember the days when our metabolisms processed calories from alcohol and buffets at lightning speed. But more importantly, performing horrendously off-key renditions of Backstreet Boys classics is a sure-fire way to put friendships on the fast track.

In honor of those hazy nights I made these japchae baos. They lie somewhere between drunk food and acceptably wholesome meal, a gray area that most Asian food seems to occupy. Japchae is a Korean sweet potato noodle dish tossed with ground beef and various vegetables, typically including carrot, peppers, white onion, and spinach. It's all tied together by an irresistibly fragrant sesame oil and soy sauce blend that coats each slick noodle.

Today’s baos contain all the traditional ingredients (with the ratio of beef to noodles adjusted up); I pan-fried them to get a crispy bottom crust, then let them steam to finish cooking. What makes these baos so special is that the hefty amount of vegetable releases quite a lot of water, so each bite is incredibly juicy. They’re perfect for that unplanned fourth meal.

Japchae Bao Recipe (serves 4-5)

Ingredients

5 cups flour (I used a mix of white whole wheat / white AP flour, but feel free to use all white AP)

Prepare the dough: Mix together the flour and salt. In a separate bowl, add sugar and yeast to the water and let it sit until foamy and fragrant, around 5-10 min. When the yeast is done proofing, pour into the flour and salt mixture, and mix until combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and tacky and doesn't stick to the surface or your hands. Additional flour should not be necessary beyond 1-2 tbsp. Oil a bowl and turn the dough ball in the oil so it's lightly coated, then cover and set aside in a warm draft-free location.

Let the dough rise: It should take about an hour, but will not fully double.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Roughly chop the sweet potato noodles into 1-inch long segments. Chop the scallions, white onion, garlic, ginger, pepper, mushrooms and carrot very finely. Chop the wilted spinach as well. Mix the chopped vegetables, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine into the ground beef; the beef should barely hold everything together. If more binding is needed, mix in a raw egg. Set aside, refrigerated, while the dough rises.

Once the dough has risen: Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a board and knead it for another 5 minutes. This will distribute the air bubbles in the dough evenly. Divide into 16 or 32 even pieces.

Assemble: On a floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a thin circle with the center remaining slightly thicker than the edges. It's easiest to roll from the center of the dough and turn it gradually to maintain a circular shape. Place 1-2 tbsp of filling into the center of the circle, and wrap according to this video. The thinner and drier the dough is, the easier it is to wrap, but a more hydrated dough will be fluffier!

Cook in batches: Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium high to high heat. Place the baos in the pan with 1-2 in of space between them. When the bottom of the baos becomes crispy (~1-2 min), turn down the heat to low or medium low, then add a splash of water (keep the lid tilted over the pot so nothing splashes in your face). Cover, and let steam for 8 minutes (10-12 min for larger bao).

the blog

Knead for Perspective is a blog devoted to food and food narratives. Most recipes are hybrids of the tastes and techniques of various different cultures, and reflect my experiences as an Asian American.